From Sacred Ground to Architectural Marvel
Where stone unfolds in light and motion
Stone, Science, and Splendor.
Constructed during the golden period of French influence and architectural prowess, under the reign of "Sun-King" Louis XIV, Château de Lantenay holds an element of wonder: the famed staircase of its North Tower.
From the ground up, the staircase, complete with its seventeenth century original rough iron handrail, first runs along its rounded and open vault, resting entirely on a massive and finely carved single block of stone presenting a masterpiece of stereotomy.
This first flight of stairs lands under a second closed stone vault, itself prolonged by a spiral staircase that stretches another two further flights to reach the top of the edifice.
The entire structure, Classé M.H. par arrêté du 27 décembre 1963, has been recognized with the French Ministry of Culture’s highest designation for historical monuments.
Carved by hand and time from ashlar burgundy stone, the staircase is an object of precision, each stone seemingly molded into a cohesive whole.
The Art of Precision.
In their construction of Château de lantenay, masonry artisans redefined stereotomy as poetry of stone and, with its layers of legacy, seem to have bestowed it upon future generations as both a gift and a challenge .
© Photo Philippe Charlot